nimh batteries died?

[What's_nitro?]

NiMH are less affected by long term storage than NiCd. But, they will still crystalize if left on the shelf for a long period. So long as they weren't ever overcharged, you can usually revive them quite a bit since they don't hold a memory like NiCd do.

If you want to really compare input/output mAH, you need to charge/discharge at the same rate. Otherwise by discharging at a higher rate the voltage will drop more quickly that it rose while charging and you wont pull as much out before hitting the cut-off.

Though like you said, if you charge it afterwards just see how much goes back in. It works but you can eliminate that step by cycling with the same rate for charge/discharge.